Wellington Health and Fitness hosted the Berkshire Closed Over-45s tournament, where Paul Johnson triumphed over Wellington’s own Jeremy Baker in a thrilling five-set final.
Paul’s path to the final saw him secure dominant 3–0 victories over Tom Pitt and Jay Morris. Jeremy, however, faced a much tougher challenge in his semi-final against Steve Dodridge. In a gripping contest between two former champions, Jeremy took the first game 11–4, but Doddi responded by winning the second 11–7. Jeremy regained the lead with an 11–3 win in the third, only for Doddi to edge the fourth 11–9 after trailing 9–8. The deciding set was fiercely contested, but Jeremy held his nerve to win 11–7, taking the match 3–2. A fantastic battle and a great match to watch!
Sunday’s final saw Paul race into a 2–0 lead, winning the first two games 11–5 and 11–8. However, Jeremy fought back, tightening his play and reducing errors to claim the third and fourth sets 11–7 and 11–4. The decisive fifth set was a nail-biter, with Jeremy leading 10–6. But Paul dug deep, displaying incredible retrieval skills and unleashing some stunning backhand volleys to mount an impressive comeback and secure victory 15–13. It was an outstanding match, keeping spectators on the edge of the balcony—including me!
With this win, Paul completes the full set of county titles. He was Doubles Champion with Andrew Lewis in 1997/98, Closed Champion in 2000, Over-35 Champion in 2009/10, and now, Over-45 Champion—an extraordinary achievement, making him the only player in Berkshire to have claimed all these titles.
In the Plate Final, Jay Morris, also from Wellington, made a memorable tournament debut just one day after turning 45. The youngest competitor in the draw, he put in a dominant performance to defeat Richard Bodkin 3–0 (11–2, 11–6, 11–3). Congratulations, Jay!
Several past champions attended to support the tournament, including two from Wellington: Graham Hooper, a five-time winner, and Dave Weston, who has claimed the title twice. A special tribute was paid to Phil Tuck, who tragically passed away last year. Phil was a generous supporter of the event, kindly sponsoring Taittinger champagne as a prize for many years.
A huge thank you to Wellington and its staff, whose exceptional support continues to make this tournament such a success year after year.
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